LA PAZ – Bolivian President Evo Morales appointed on Monday Pensions and Financial Services Deputy Minister Mario Guillen to head the Economy Ministry in place of Luis Arce, who will receive medical treatment in Brazil.

Morales said Guillen would stay in the post until Arce completed his treatment, describing the appointment as “temporary.”

On Saturday, during a joint press conference with Morales in the central city of Cochabamba, Arce said he required medical treatment in Brazil, but neither he nor the president provided details about the illness or how long treatment would last.

Guillen thanked Morales for “the trust you placed in me in assigning me this responsibility” while Arce, a “teacher, comrade and friend,” deals with his health problems.

The acting economy minister said his appointment would last “for a short period of time.”

Until he took this leave for medical reasons, Arce was the only minister who had served in the administration uninterrupted since January 2006, when Morales first took office.

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